Temporary wall.



T. G. CLARKE.

TEMPORARY WALL. APPLICATION FILED In 11, 1910.

Patented Oct. 4, 1910.

Sin-van for 72022211.? Curtis Clarify.

0 2 mu Y THOMAS CURTIS CLARKE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TEMPORARY WALL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May, 11, 1910. Serial No. 560,577.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS CURTIS CLARKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Temporary Valls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for protecting against floods and consists in a peculiar temporary wall, which may easily be set in position when needed and easily taken "down when the need is passed, and whereby unsightly permanent levees, dikes, dams and other barriers are avoided.

The essential features of m invention are a masonry foundation, rovi ed with a continuous groove, channe or slot, and interlocking metal pile beams adapted to fit the groove snugly enough so as to be firmly supported against the greatest pressure to which a wall may be subjected, when in position, and yet, with a little looseness, so that they may be set in place and removed easil and quickly by hand. To that end iles 0 such length should be used as to orm a wall higher than the highest possible oint of the flood, and the grooves should be eep enou h to give a firm support to the piles of t e length used.

My invention will be understood by reference to the drawing herewith in which the :same reference numerals indicate the samepart in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a erspective view partially in vertical section illustrating my peculiar con- "struction. Fg. 2 is a plan of .Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section illustrating the use of my invention in connection with a permanent wall or a parapet. *Fig. 4 is a fragv:mental view in perspective illustrating means for tightening the pile beams after they have been set in place. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show other forms of interlockingpile sections msed in my peculiar structure. Fig. 8 shows a slight modification in Fig. 3, relating to 't'he construction of the groove.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and I2, 1

'indicates the pile beams, or sections, of any suitable construction such as are now lcommonly rolled from steelblooms, fabrloated from structural beams, or Otl'lGIWlSfimfldE.

The beams are preferably provided with interlocking flan es, or other interlocking iele ments, along te two edges of the web, 'so

that, when set in position in the slotted foundation, they form a wall that is strong and practically water-tight. 2 indicates the foundation of masonry concrete or other suitable material, provided with the groove, or continuous socket 3, which might be of uniform width but preferably is made, as indicated to correspond to the section of the particular piles, that is with narrow portions corresponding to the pile webs alternating with wider portions corresponding to the interlocking or engaging edges so that a bearin is afforded on the webs as well as on the en arged interlockin locking elements. This oundation may be constructed at any suitable height above the normal level of the water, and may be raised above the level of the earth, (in whole or in part) but generally and preferably is substantially level with the earth or the pavement, etc., at the point in question so as to be inconspicuous, for one of the particular advantages of my invention is that it does not disfigure the landscape, as for instance in a beautiful city, Where the river banks have been improved fbyembankments, river-side parks, etc. In building a foundation a trench ma be dug, and a suitable form of sheet meta ,or'wood may be centered and arranged therein ifor the slot and the. concrete be mixed :and molded around it. The foundation may of course be of such length as may he desired, and may be of any desirable depth, width and anchorage to resist the particular strains to which it will be subjected at the point in question. It may follow the contour of the locality, up or down, more or less, where necessary, and, if desirable, in depressions ra deeper groove may-be formed for lien er piles, so that the top of the pile walliwill be substantially level.

fin Fig. 3 any invention is shown in conneetion with a permanent wall or parapet 5. The river is supposed to be at the left of the Wallr'SO that in times of flood the wall assists in Esustaining the Ttemporary wall of piling. This illustrates the condition prevaili g in- Baris'during the late floods, where the river roseabove the parapet, but by means of my invention a temporary wall could be quickly setlin place rising a few feet above the top of the parapet and entirely controlling the flood. With my invention'the foundation could be carried across the breaks in the parapet such as bridge roadways, and land- Patented Oct. 4, 1910.

edges or inter ing approaches, and the .piling quickly set .111 place to form a continuous wall,tempo'-- rarily to span such spaces.

der them absolutely water tight at the joints.

Generally speaking this is not necessarywhere the slot is *made to correspond tothe shape of the piling. A desirable means for tightening is at intervals to set permanent screw eyes 6, in the foundation and to provide the adjacent beam with a corresponding eye 7 or hole. A turnbuckle 8 is interlocked with the two eyes and turned up, whereby the wall is tightened. It will not be necessary or desirable to do this with every beam, but the turn buckle or other means may be applied" to every tenth or twentieth beam. The turn-buckle is easily loosened when the wall is taken down.

In the preceding figuresparticularly described, I have shown a double interlock piling, which is particularly desirable for this purpose, not only on account of its strength and firm interlock, but because in that interlock there were three points or lines of contact whereby the joints are rendered practically water tight, without the need of the aforedescribed tightening means. "It

will be understood that generally the water pressure would tighten the joints sufficiently incase of any form of piling.

My peculiar structure can be made with any form of metal piling now on the market. Illustrations of other forms of piling are shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. In Fig. 5 the piling is composed of the usual structural I. beams 10 connected by special interlocking sections 11. 'In Fig. 6 a well ,known form of built up or fabricated piling is shown in which .usual structural channels 12 are used and the interlocks formed by riveting'thereto the 2 bars l3. Fig. 7 shows'a corrugated form made of lighter metal,

. where the pile edges engage, but do not interlock, strictly speaking.

While I particularly describe my Invention for protection against flood, it may be used for any other purposes where such a wallis desirable, for instance as a barricade or breast work, particularly to protect railroads and bridges as at the frontier, and the foundation may be modified in form and con structed of other materials as long as it is formed with a groove or continuous socket temporarily to receive the pile beams. For instance in a modification of the particular arrangement shown in Fig. 3, a metal foundation piece, for instance a 2 bar 15, might be anchored by bolts 16 to the parapet '5,

when the latter is building. In such ,an arrangement, the parapet sustains most of the pressure exerted on the piling wall by the tially water, and therefore a shallow slot only is necessary; where the foundation is of metal as suggested it may be arranged merely to grip the toe of each pile beam.

Where desirable to exclude dirt from the slot during the times that the temporary wall of metal beams is installed, the foundation could be protected by any suitable cover, such as planks havin nails, or other projections, to engage wit the slot, to hold the pile driver, and therefore permanent in fact,

even though it was only for temporary use, for the piles could only be removed by expensive and diflicult means such as applying a great force to draw them, and no piling structure heretofore, with which I am acquainted, could be set up and removed easily as many times as desired. On the contrary a great length of my temporary wall may be installed and removed in a few hours, the speed only depending on the number of men employed to. set the piles in the slot or to remove them.

The cost of the foundation and the piling for my peculiar temporary structure is not great and is very small compared to the I metal sheet piles adapted to be set in said groove to form a temporary wall.

2. In a structure of the character described, a masonry foundation base formed with a continuous oove'or slot of suitable depth, and in comblnation therewith a series of steel sheet piles adapted to be set in said groove to form a'temporary wall.

3.. In a wall adapted for temporary use as a protection against floods, the combination with a masonry foundation of length corres onding to the length of the protecting wal and having its upper surface substanlevel with the surface of the earth, said foundation being provided with a continuous slot extending from the u per surface a suitable depth'in the foun ation to receive and sustain piling,.and steel sheet piles adapted to be set in said slot with their edges in contact.

4. In a wall for temporary use, the combination with an elongated masonry foundation provided with a continuous slot, of interlocking steel sheet piles ada ted to be set in said grooves with their e ges interlocking and extending above said foundation to form a continuous wallof suitable height, said slot being formed alternately with narrow ortions to fit the pile webs and with enlarge portions to receive the interlocking portions.

5. In a wall adapted for tempor use, the combination with a masonry foun ation provided with a of the character described continuous slot,"of interlockin steel sheet piles adapted to be- $11 rted y said wall with their ends inserts in the slot and their edges interlockin metal projections fixed in the upper portion of the wall, and tightname to this specification in the presence of two su scribing witnesses.

THOMAS CURTIS CLARKE, Witnesses:

J. R. MILLWARD, ALLAN W. Foonn. 

